David Bowie and Queen — "Under Pressure." Gates said: "In my 20s and 30s I worked a lot, but a few Fridays and Saturdays we'd go out and dance, so this kind of reminds me of those disco days with a bit of weekend freedom."

Willie Nelson — "Blue Skies." Gates said this was his favorite of the picks. The night before his wedding to Melinda, Gates surprised her with a special performance from Nelson on a beach in Hawaii.

Ed Sheeran — "Sing." This is a favorite of Gates' 13-year-old daughter, Phoebe.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience — "Are You Experienced?" Gates said of this song: "[Microsoft cofounder] Paul Allen was far more into music than I was and the musician he loved the most was Jimi Hendrix. And because I was younger, he'd sometimes taunt me with the title of this song — 'Are you experienced?' — because I had gotten drunk or other various things, so this was one of our favorites."

U2 — "One." Gates said: "When the [Bill & Melinda Gates] Foundation was just getting started around 2000, Paul [Allen] told me that I should meet Bono. And I didn't prioritize it because I thought a musician is not really going to understand this global-health stuff. But we finally did get to meet and I was amazed about he had thought about it, read about it, so it started a partnership, and he's been absolutely amazing."

The Beatles — "Two Of Us." Gates said he chose this song because his "good friend" Steve Jobs mentioned it when the two famously gave a joint interview not long before the Apple founder's death. Jobs said the song was kind of like the journey the two of them had been on, working with each other, and sometimes as fierce rivals.

Rodgers & Hammerstein — "How Can Love Survive?" Gates said he chose this song from the Broadway version of "The Sound of Music" because it is one of his and Melinda's favorite from the musical. He also said Warren Buffett and his first wife Susan once sang it to the couple.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anthony Ramos, Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Leslie Odom Jr. — "My Shot." This song comes from the musical "Hamilton," which is currently on Broadway. Gates said it appealed because: "It's about a young person saying, 'Hey I'm going to take a risk, I'm going to get out there and try something different.'"

His book choice was: "The Better Angels of Our Nature" by Steven Pinker. Gates chose the Collection of Lectures DVD from The Learning Company as his luxury item.